COURTROOM 611 was broken by the eerie sound of Steven McDonald’s oxygen machine.

Steven, a decorated cop, was paralyzed by a punk’s bullet in Central Park in 1987.

To his extreme right was former NYPD Lt. Patricia Feerick, who was jailed on the testimony of four low-life drug dealers.

As Steven sucked on his life-support machine, he was looking at Charles Schwarz serving 16 years, Tommy Wiese and Tommy Bruder, facing five years for something they didn’t do in the Abner Louima assault.

“I won’t be satisfied until I see all three of those guys walk out of here free,” Steven said between gasps.

On the stand was retired Sgt. Patrick Walsh, who yesterday emerged as a lifeline to the embattled cops.

To the left of Officer McDonald were John Patten and George Cerrone, lawyers for the Sergeants Benevolent Association, who have seen too many cops persecuted for doing their jobs.

* Steven McDonald, hopelessly paralyzed.

* Patricia Feerick, jailed by people who emerged from sewers.

* Three cops in the Louima case, whose lives have been shattered by government idiocy.

* Patrick Walsh, driven to the bottle because he couldn’t get the message out that the way he saw it: Charles Schwarz wasn’t even guilty of spitting on the sidewalk.

* And two attorneys, John Patten and George Cerrone, who see too much agony for cops doing what they are called on to do – to protect our sorry butts.

In short, yesterday’s courtroom looked like an ER for the cops, a casualty ward, a field hospital.

“A hundred-year culture is coming to an end,” Cerrone said grimly.

“That hundred years was one in which prosecutors and cops worked to lock up the bad guys. Now prosecutors are trying to lock up the good guys. A hundred-year culture is coming to an end. A mistaken identification sent the U.S. government on a four-year chase after the wrong man.”

Attorney John Patten, who brilliantly defended the Diallo cops from being hung out to dry, said:

“The moment they locked up Charles Schwarz, somehow they couldn’t reverse themselves even when they knew they were wrong. It’s like trying to turn around an oil tanker on a dime. I want to see these guys go free and we can all breathe a little easier about justice.”

Andra Schwarz, wife of the former Marine hero, said: “We do see some hope in this new testimony of Sergeant Walsh, but after 27 months of Chuck’s suffering, I’ve seen hope before only to have all our hearts broken.”

Alan Vinegrad made mountains over the fact that the lifeline witness admitted that during his darkest drinking days he would drink sometimes five to 10 beers a day. Vinegrad, who nailed these cops to a shabbily erected crucifix with every two-timing trick in the trade, seemed genuinely shocked that anyone could drink five to 10 beers in a 24-hour day.

Alan Vinegrad couldn’t live with my crew – and his sorry attempt at justice shouldn’t have him living anywhere with people who believe that justice is as straight as 6 o’clock and not as crooked as a dog’s ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^hind leg.